The Exorcist Star Ellen Burstyn Already Shot Scenes for New Movie

The Exorcist is getting a legacy sequel (reboot) from Halloween Reboot Trilogy director David Gordon Green. Many fans were expecting Green to jump into The Exorcist after he finished with his Halloween Trilogy finale, Halloween Ends. However, it seems work on The Exorcist (which is set to be an entire trilogy) is already underway in some capacity, because actress Ellen Burstyn – Oscar-nominated star of the original Exorcist has claimed that she already completed filming on her portion of the movie! 

Horror outlet Bloody Disgusting got alerted by Exorcist fans on social media, who pointed to an interview that Burstyn did back in February 2022, in which she seems to soft-drop the fact that she's already filmed the new Exorcist:

 "I've already shot the new version... nothing weird happened [on set]," Burstyn explained to Daily Blast Live. "There was a lot of weirdness on the first one." The outlet goes on to claim that this filming with Burstyn was done in secret – until, of course, she revealed it.

The Exorcist reboot is set for release on Friday, October 13, 2023 – a fitting release date for obvious reasons. While it still seems like David Gordon Green and co. have yet to fully move into the production and filming phase of things, it's completely plausible that they shot this portion of the movie with Ellen Burstyn first. Burstyn will turn 90 years old this December, and suffice to say that at that stage of life, time is obviously the most sacred resource there is. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollywood had had to grapple with the fact that even the biggest screen icons could be gone tomorrow; as such, productions that feature elderly thespians have had to really reconsider getting material in the can as quickly and efficiently as possible, in case the worst should happen (see: Star Trek: Picard). Between COVID concerns and general aging concerns, Green and co. are smarter than not for filming Ellen Burstyn's scenes early. 

By now movie fans are familiar enough with the parameters of these new "Legacy Sequels" (which are also kind of reboots) to know that Burstyn's character, Chris MacNeil doesn't need to have a huge presence in the film. In fact, the Requiem for a Dream star could be intensely scary and satisfying as a version of Chris who is old but still very much haunted by the demonic entity that possessed her daughter Regan (Linda Blair). 

All we know about the reboot so far is that it start Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton, Knives Out 2). Presuming it will be some kind of spiritual investigation/fight at the center of the story, Odom's character may very much need the guidance (or warning) that only someone like Chris MacNeil can provide. If Linda Blair isn't in the reboot, we can only guess what dark fate Regan met, how it affected Chris, and what it means for the level of demonic possession in this new story... 

The Exorcist will be in theaters on Friday, October 13, 2023.